Recent advances in nanoscale technology have resulted in techniques for growing nanoscale wires (“nanowires”) from a variety of materials including Gallium Nitride (GaN), Silicon (Si), Silicon Germanium (SiGe), Zinc Oxide (ZiO), Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), Cadmium Sulfide (CdS), Indium Phosphide (InP) and others. These nanowires have demonstrated many remarkable properties. Of particular interest is the ability to act as waveguides for optical frequency radiation.
Nanowires can be grown with diameters on the order of a few hundred nanometers. This allows them to act as waveguides for UV, visible and near IR light. One of the most common techniques used for the formation of nanowires, nanotubes, or nanorods is template-based synthesis in which the desired materials are grown within the pores of a porous membrane such as track-etched polycarbonate or anodic alumina. This method is widely used to form metal and polymer nanorods, semiconducting and oxide nanowires and composite structures. After the material is grown the template is removed to leave the desired nanowires.